Stethoscope with extended detection range

ABSTRACT

An improved stethoscope design with an extended detection range for sounds above and below the range of human hearing and artificial intelligence connection to other clinical data for analysis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an improved stethoscope design with anextended detection range, extended frequency bandwidth, which may beused with an artificial intelligence connection to other clinical datafor analysis.

2) Description of Related Art

The human ability to sense sound is the result of an approximately fourbillion year evolutionary cycle. Hearing enables a listener tohear/perceive natural sounds that exist in the environment, which aidswith locating food, as well as helps the listener avoid becoming food.The human ear responds to disturbances/temporal variations in pressureand is very sensitive. The ear has: more than six (6) orders ofmagnitude in dynamic range of pressure sensitivity; twelve (12) ordersof magnitude in sound intensity; and three (3) orders of magnitude infrequency (20 Hz-20 KHz). Further, having two ears greatly enhances 3-Dlocalization of sounds, and also the determination of pitch (i.e.frequency resolution). This may extend into the megahertz range as well.

As social animals, human hearing has developed to improve detection ofhuman-made sounds. Social animals are primarily interested in their ownspecies, and, hence, humans are primarily interested in hearinghuman-made sounds produced by voices. The frequency range of soundsproduced by voices—the totality of the physics associated with air as amedium plus vibrating vocal chords in our larynx/voice box plus hyoidbone plus acoustic cavities of our lungs plus throat plus mouth plusnasal passage/sinus cavity dictates what the acoustic power spectrum ofthe human voice can/cannot be. Over the course of time, hearingco-evolved with the sounds that voices make. Further, human hearing hasevolved to possess a limited range in order to avoid hypersensitivity tosounds, such as, for example, infra-sound (f<20 Hz). It would besignificantly detrimental if human hearing was constantly being “masked”by hearing draft/wind noises as one walked or ran.

One particular use of human hearing is to diagnose health by listeningto noises made by the human body, such as by use of a stethoscope.Stethoscopes date back to Rene Laennec, a personal physician ofNapoleon, who invented the stethoscope in 1815. That device picked upacoustic vibrations, such as heart and breathing sounds from the bodysurface and transmitted them via a conductive, air-filled medium, whichis typically a pipe or a rubber hose. This style of stethoscope remainsin use today because of its simplicity and robustness. For over 200years the stethoscope has been used by healthcare providers to listen toa variety of body systems such as the heart, lungs, blood vessels, andgastrointestinal tract for sounds that aid in the diagnosis and clinicalmanagement of patients.

A typical stethoscope consists of a diaphragm or bell that is placed onthe body surface of the patient and tubing that transmits the bodysounds to the examiner's ears for interpretation. Only sounds loudenough and within the frequency of the hearing range of the listener canbe heard and interpreted for assessing the health of the patient. Morerecently, electronic stethoscopes have been introduced that can amplifybody sounds and also record and graphically display the frequency of thesounds in real time. However, to date, only frequencies within the humanhearing range have been systematically evaluated.

It has been reported that healthcare practitioners experiencedifficulties listening and identifying heart sounds with a stethoscope,especially in a working medical facility filled with a plethora ofbackground noise. Accordingly, it is an object of the present disclosureto assist in learning and accurately identifying heart and other bodysounds, as well as new sounds that will help with patient diagnosis andmedical treatment. What is needed in the art is an improved stethoscopedesign. Information from the stethoscope of the current disclosure maybe used in combination with other patient data and assessed byartificial intelligence and deep learning to enhance the accuracy ofdiagnoses and create a personalized patient profile. The device can beused in medical research to assess the effectiveness of treatment suchas that of new medications since it will be able to provide earlier andmore sensitive detection of progression or regression of disease. Thisextended analysis of body sounds can also be used as an educational toolin the health sciences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above objectives are accomplished according to the present inventionby providing in a first embodiment, a method for monitoring andanalyzing body sounds. The method includes placing at least onedetection device in contact with a body to be monitored, detecting bodysounds within, above and below a frequency range of human hearing,assessing spatial distribution of sounds using an array of sensors inthe detection device, amplifying the volume of body sounds via thedetection device, recording the body sounds in at least one bodylocation; and receiving and processing the body sounds to determine astate of health. Further, the method includes a baseline sound recordingfor a body based on the body sounds recorded. This may act as the“normal” reading for a patient or animal, even if they are in a healthy,diseased or injured state. Still further, the method comprises takingadditional body sound recordings over time. Still yet further, themethod compares the body sound recordings taken at different times tothe baseline recording to determine differences in the body soundrecordings. Further yet, the method analyzes at least one of frequency,intensity, wave form, nonlinearity of waveform, or location of sounddetected in a physiological cycle. Still further, the method combinesresults from the analysis with other health data points of the bodybeing monitored. Still even further, the method analyzes the combinedresults by deep learning and artificial intelligence to provide earlierand more accurate diagnoses. Furthermore, a second detection device isplaced on the body being monitored at a location separate from the atleast one detection device. Even further, the method analyzesnonlinearity of the body sounds and associates same with a health statusof the body.

In an alternative embodiment, a system is provided for analyzing soundsgenerated by an animal's body. The system includes: at least onedetection device for auscultation of internal sounds from the animal'sbody wherein the ausculated sounds are within, above and below humanhearing range; the detection device is in wireless communication with areceiver, which receives the ausculated internal sounds from thedetection device; a processor, in communication with the receiver,generates audio and video output formed from the internal soundsausculated by the detection device; and a monitor for displaying theaudio and video output from the processor. Further, the systemcommunicates with at least one communication system other than themonitor. Still further, the detection device has an offset peripheralmargin that may contain an adhesive to affix the recording disk to thebody surface to improve quality of recording of the body sounds anddecrease external noise. Further still, the system forms a baselinesound recording for a body based on the body sounds recorded. Evenfurther, the system analyzes at least one aspect of the body sounds suchas frequency, intensity, wave form, nonlinearity of waveform, orlocation of sound detected in a physiological cycle. Further yet still,a second detection device may be placed on the animal's body beingmonitored at a location separate from the at least one detection device.Even further still, system analyzes nonlinearity of the body sounds andassociating same with a health status of the body.

In a still further embodiment, device for monitoring and analyzing bodysounds is provided. The device includes a sound detection apparatus fordetecting sounds within, above and below a human range of hearing; anamplifier for amplifying the detected sounds; at least one volumecontrol; a transmitter for transmitting the sounds; a first surface forcontacting a body, the first surface defining an offset peripheralmargin; a record button to initiate or cease recording of the bodysounds; and a power indicator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The construction designed to carry out the invention will hereinafter bedescribed, together with other features thereof. The invention will bemore readily understood from a reading of the following specificationand by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof,wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an audiometric curve which displays the range of soundsthat humans can hear.

FIG. 2 shows a system employing a recording device and monitor of thecurrent disclosure.

FIG. 3A shows a bottom view of one embodiment of a recording device ofthe current disclosure.

FIG. 3B shows a top view of one embodiment of a recording device of thecurrent disclosure.

FIG. 3C shows a side view of one embodiment of a recording device of thecurrent disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a method of one embodiment of the current disclosure.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or moreaspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or moreother aspects can meet certain other objectives. Each objective may notapply equally, in all its respects, to every aspect of this invention.As such, the preceding objects can be viewed in the alternative withrespect to any one aspect of this invention. These and other objects andfeatures of the invention will become more fully apparent when thefollowing detailed description is read in conjunction with theaccompanying figures and examples. However, it is to be understood thatboth the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detaileddescription are of a preferred embodiment and not restrictive of theinvention or other alternate embodiments of the invention. Inparticular, while the invention is described herein with reference to anumber of specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that thedescription is illustrative of the invention and is not constructed aslimiting of the invention. Various modifications and applications mayoccur to those who are skilled in the art, without departing from thespirit and the scope of the invention, as described by the appendedclaims. Likewise, other objects, features, benefits and advantages ofthe present invention will be apparent from this summary and certainembodiments described below, and will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages willbe apparent from the above in conjunction with the accompanyingexamples, data, figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawntherefrom, alone or with consideration of the references incorporatedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings, the invention will now be described inmore detail. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientificterms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one ofordinary skill in the art to which the presently disclosed subjectmatter belongs. Although any methods, devices, and materials similar orequivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice ortesting of the presently disclosed subject matter, representativemethods, devices, and materials are herein described.

Unless specifically stated, terms and phrases used in this document, andvariations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should beconstrued as open ended as opposed to limiting. Likewise, a group ofitems linked with the conjunction “and” should not be read as requiringthat each and every one of those items be present in the grouping, butrather should be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated otherwise.Similarly, a group of items linked with the conjunction “or” should notbe read as requiring mutual exclusivity among that group, but rathershould also be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, although items, elements or components of the disclosuremay be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplatedto be within the scope thereof unless limitation to the singular isexplicitly stated. The presence of broadening words and phrases such as“one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases insome instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case isintended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may beabsent.

The present invention will amplify body sounds and also expand the rangeof sounds detected to above and below the frequency range of humanhearing, approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. For instance, infrasoundbelow 20 Hz may be detected, as well as ultrasound above 20,000 Hz. Forinstance, infrasound may be detected as low as 1 Hz and ultrasoundsdetected at the 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 60,000, 70,000 or higher levels,including midpoints between same such as 32,000 Hz, 43,000 Hz, 57,000,66,000 Hz or ranges of same such as from 1 Hz to 50,000 Hz, 3 Hz to67,000 Hz, 2 Hz to 80,000 Hz, etc. In one aspect, the current disclosuremay provide an improved stethoscope for auscultation or listening to theinternal sounds of an animal or human body. The current disclosure willalso detect sounds within the human range of hearing.

FIG. 1 displays an audiometric curve that shows the range of sounds thathumans can hear, with frequency on the x-axis and sound level orintensity on the y-axis. The hearing of many individuals has beensummarized to show the sounds that humans with normal hearing are ableto hear (light green area), in the context of where human speech falls(dark green area).

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of detector 100, which in one embodiment maybe an electronic stethoscope, of the present disclosure on a patient101. Detector 100 may comprise an amplifier for boosting electriccurrent to provide a much-magnified version of the original sound (thesounds generated from the patient's body). Detector 100 may receive andamplify sounds generated by a patient, such as a human or other mammalor animal. A monitor 102 will display all frequencies detected bydetector 100 as well as the sound wave form and intensity (loudness) 104of each sound. The detected aspects include, but are not limited to,frequency, wavelength, amplitude, nonlinearity of waveform, intensity,pitch and tone of the received sound. All of these various aspects of asound help give each sound a unique pattern. Further, this uniquenesswill exist between different patients. Thus, listening to Mr. Smith'sheart will generate a different sound than that generated by Ms.Johnson's heart, even if both have healthy hearts with no signs ofdisease. These sonic differences are used as part of the presentdisclosure to form a sonic “fingerprint” for a patient that aids intreatment, such as diagnostic interpretation of the sounds, as well ashelps distinguish one patient from another based on the individualaspects of the sounds each patient naturally produces.

Transmission of the sound wave form and intensity 104 may be viawireless communication 106 from monitor 102 to a receiver 108. Suchwireless communication may take the form of IR wireless communication,satellite communication, broadcast radio waves, microwave radio,Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc., as known to those of skill in the art. Receiver108 may provide video and audio output 110 to monitor 102, which mayhave speakers 112 incorporated into same. Receiver 108 may also comprisea processor 111, as known to those of skill in the art, in communicationwith receiver 108 for receiving input, analyzing, converting,manipulating, processing, generating output, etc., with respect to theinformation received by detector 100. In one example, receiver 108 maybe a A/V (audio/video) receiver that provides surround-sound capability,digital audio processing, digital video processing and switching,automatic speaker setup systems and network audio and video set-up.Receiver 108 may also communicate with other systems such as a PACSsystem 114, which stands for Picture Archiving and Communication System,for storage, retrieval, identification, and other manipulations of thedata. Monitor 102 may display various information regarding sound waveform and intensity 104, such as the audio wave form, amplitude, etc.Monitor 102 may also receive and display information from other devicessuch as EKG information and/or respiration, pulse, heart rate,temperature, etc., obtained from other devices and transmitted tomonitor 102.

The size of the detector 100 is such as to allow not only for listeningto sound at one particular location on a human body, but also forassessing spatial distribution of sound to aid diagnostics. For example,a detector 100 on a patient's chest can be used to determine wherewithin the chest a sound originates. Sound frequency and wave form willbe placed in the precise location within the appropriate physiologicalcycle such as heart sounds in the cardiac cycle or a breath sound in therespiratory cycle. A key feature of the current disclosure is that newsounds either too soft to be heard or with frequencies outside of thenormal human hearing range will be identified. These are expected toprovide additional information to aid in diagnosis and clinicalmanagement of the patient.

In one embodiment, detector 100 may include an audio sound transducer,which may include both: (1) input sensors, which convert sound and bodyvibration into an electrical signal which may include, but is notlimited to a microphone or piezoelectric sensors; and (2) outputactuators that convert the electrical signals back into sound such as aloudspeaker. The monitor can display the sound data with other clinicaldigital input data such as the EKG and respiratory breathing cycle asseen in the example display in 102.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C show one embodiment of a recording device of thecurrent disclosure. FIG. 3A shows a bottom view of a recording device200 of the current disclosure. Detector disk 202, which in oneembodiment may be approximately 5.0 cm in diameter, has an offset 204 atthe margin 206 of recording device 200 to allow an adhesive, such as forpurposes of example only and not intended to be limiting, double-sidedadhesive tape, not shown, to contact the disk and the patient's bodysurface while allowing the recording portion 208 in the center ofdetector disk 202 to make continuous fixed contact with the bodysurface. This will allow maximum quality recording of the body soundswhile minimizing or eliminating noise from movement of the disk on thebody surface.

FIG. 3B shows a top down view of recording device 200. Device 200 mayinclude a battery indicator 220, volume controls for increasing volume222 and decreasing volume 224, a record button 226 to initiate or ceaserecording, and a power indicator 228 to indicate when device 200 ispowered on or powered off or the batter is at a certain power level.FIG. 3C shows a side view of recording device 200 showing double-sidedadhesive tape 230 affixed to bottom 232 of recording device 200. Tape230 also helps to create an additional barrier to external noise tofurther increase the efficiency of recording device 200, as well asimproves the quality of recording of the body sounds.

Recording and archiving the data received by device 200, as known tothose of skill in the art, can serve as a baseline against which changesin the sounds can be assessed for each individual. In addition, thisextended analysis of body sounds both below and above the range of humanhearing, can provide new data that can be combined with other importantclinical data of the patient such as an electrocardiogram, pulmonaryfunction test data, ultrasound findings, and blood pressure readings fordeep learning and artificial intelligence assessment of the patient'shealth. This will contribute to more accurate diagnoses and creation ofa personal patient profile and allow for the application of “precision”medicine for the individual patient.

One essential element of the current disclosure is a broad frequencyacoustic detection device that makes contact with the body surface inthe area where the body sound can be heard (over the heart, lungs,etc.). The device will detect and assess spatial distribution of variousbody sounds and transmit sound data with a wired or wireless connection(i.e. Bluetooth) to a computer/smartphone/other electronic device forvisual display, projection of the sound, and recording of the sounddata. The sound reception mechanism can range from a traditionalvibratory receiver, piezo element audio transducer, contact pinreceiver, or other form of acoustic reception device. In one embodiment,a microphone input transducer, a sound transducer that can be classed asa “sound sensor” which produces an electrical analogue output signalwhich is proportional to the “acoustic” sound wave acting upon itsflexible diaphragm, may be used. The microphone would form a signal thatis an “electrical image” representing the characteristics of theacoustic waveform. Multiple sensors arranged in the array, e.g. severalmicrophones, will provide information on spatial distribution of sound.Generally, the output signal from a microphone is an analogue signaleither in the form of a voltage or current which is proportional to theactual sound wave. The most common types of microphones available assound transducers are Dynamic, Electret Condenser, Ribbon and the newerPiezo-electric Crystal microphones.

The sound data received by detector 100 or 200 may be permanentlyrecorded as well as transmitted to distant sites in real time for othersto view and hear. The detector may be manually pressed to the body oraffixed to the body via double-sided adhesive contact tape, or othermeans as known to those of skill in the art, to stabilize the disk onthe body surface. The acoustic receptor device may be a stand-alonedevice or combined with digital data from other medical detectiondevices such as those used to detect and record electrocardiograms,pulmonary function tests, body temperature, ultrasound images, or bloodoxygenation.

The method of the current disclosure to record and analyze body soundswith frequency reception beyond the normal hearing range is novel in thediagnosis and clinical management of patients. Nonlinear interactions ofthese sounds may be explored to derive new diagnostic features. A soundwave propagates through a material as a localized pressure change.Nonlinearity of the body sound waveform may be caused by variousfactors. Examples include nonlinearity due to two body surfaces being incontact, which leads to different compressional and extensional cycleseffectively modulating the propagating sound pressure waves. Inaddition, increasing the pressure of a gas or fluid increases its localtemperature. The local speed of sound in a compressible materialincreases with temperature; as a result, the wave travels faster duringthe high pressure phase of the oscillation than during the lowerpressure phase. This affects the wave's frequency structure; forexample, in an initially plane sinusoidal wave of a single frequency,the peaks of the wave travel faster than the troughs, and the pulsebecomes cumulatively more like a saw tooth wave. In other words, thewave self-distorts. In doing so, other frequency components areintroduced, which can be described by the Fourier series or other signalprocessing methods such as Hilbert Transform. This phenomenon ischaracteristic of a non-linear system, since a linear acoustic systemresponds only to the driving frequency. This always occurs but theeffects of geometric spreading and of absorption usually overcome theself-distortion, so linear behavior usually prevails and nonlinearacoustic propagation occurs only for very large amplitudes and only nearthe source. By analyzing nonlinear interactions of sound generated froma patient, new body sounds will likely be discovered that aid indiagnosis and improving patient care. Combining these sounds acquired ina single or multiple locations with other clinical data such aspulmonary function test data and ultrasound images and analyzing withartificial intelligence and deep learning will provide a morecomprehensive and unique approach to patient diagnosis and management.

In one embodiment, the current disclosure provides a disk acousticreceiver that will make contact with the body similar to a stethoscopebut in addition to detecting body sounds such as heart sounds normallyheard with a stethoscope it will also detect sounds above and below thefrequency levels of human hearing. Nonlinearity in the signal will beconsidered as a part of diagnostic features. Nonlinear distortion is aterm used in fields such as electronics, audio and telecommunications todescribe the phenomenon of a non-linear relationship between the “input”and “output” signals of—for example—an electronic device. The receiverwill amplify and detect all body sounds within the specified detectionranges and thereby allow diagnoses to be made earlier and moreaccurately. Information from the device may also be combined with otherhealth information such as an electrocardiogram (EKG) and pulmonaryfunction testing and analyzed with artificial intelligence to provide amore complete picture of the patient's health resulting in precisionmedical care. Analysis may be performed by ArtificialIntelligence/Machine Learning medical software to analyze the data andpropose a diagnosis. Examples may include IBMWatson(https://www.ibm.com/watson/health/),Isabel(https://www.isabelhealthcare.com/), and Human DX (https://www.humandx.org/).

This device will enhance the ability to detect and assess body soundsboth in and outside the normal range of hearing giving a medicalmanufacturer a definite market advantage. Moreover, researchers and thepharmaceutical industry will have a more accurate, more sensitive, andmore cost effective way to conduct research and assess therapeutic andpreventive strategies which will be a significant advantage. For thosemanufacturers engaged in multimodality medical devices combining thedevice of this disclosure with other medical devices such as ultrasound,electrocardiograms, or pulmonary function testing would give them adefinite market advantage. Further, manufacturers of educational toolssuch as electronic stethoscopes and medical simulators would gain amarket advantage using the device of the current disclosure.

Education Applications

Recording and displaying heart sounds in real-time for learners willallow opportunities for instructor directed and self-directed learningof auscultation (listening and interpreting body sounds with astethoscope). Using artificial intelligence and deep learninginterpretation of the heart sounds alone or in combination with otherclinical information such as lung sounds, EKG, pulmonary function tests,ultrasound and pulse oxygenation will not only enhance clinicaldiagnoses but provide instructor directed and self-directedopportunities not presently available. The stethoscope disk and/or thedisplay monitor will have an AI on-off activation switch. Thus, thelearner can interpret the data and draw clinical conclusions without AIassistance then activate the AI component and compare results. Thecomparison can also be analyzed and feedback given to the learner. Thiswould provide tremendous opportunities of directed and self-directedlearning that do not presently exist.

For purposes of example only and not intended to be limiting, one canconsider the classic pathological heart sound that appears in a patientwith chronic hypertension—the fourth heart sound (S4). The S4 sound isdue to thickening of the wall of the left ventricle that decreases thecompliance of the ventricle to accept blood. This heart sound is heardwhen the left atrium contracts and attempts to “top off” or squeeze moreblood into a non-compliant left ventricle. With persistent hypertensionthe thickened left ventricular wall and non-compliant ventricle can leadto heart failure. This scenario of hypertension leading to leftventricular thickening (hypertrophy) and heart failure is a very commoncause of heart failure across the world.

Amplifying the S4 and identifying additional sounds above and below thenormal range of human hearing that to date have gone unappreciated willallow the examiner to detect the development of non-compliance of theleft ventricle earlier in the process than would have been possible witha traditional stethoscope. This information could then be used to bettermanage the patient's hypertension such as initiation or change in bloodpressure medications.

Another cardiac example is the development of the third heart sound (S3)which can indicate heart failure. S3 can be caused by a suddendeceleration of blood filling the left ventricle due to left ventriculardysfunction. Having the ability to assess a boarder broader range offrequencies and nonlinear signal features could allow detection of heartsounds associated with heart failure earlier and direct the initiationof appropriate treatment. A signal from failing heart will likely bedistorted. Nonlinearity could be a measure of such distortion. Thiscould be also applied to other organs. A stethoscope with a broaderfrequency range could also potentially identify new frequencies in thedevelopment of heart failure and improve our understanding of theunderlying pathophysiology of heart failure. Heart failure can bestudied in a live pig model by tying off one of the coronary arteriescausing ischemia or death to a portion of the heart muscle resulting inheart failure. This invention will allow heart sounds to be assessed inan animal model at baseline prior to tying off a coronary artery andthen throughout the development of heart failure. This would providebetter understanding of the pathophysiology of heart failure, itsdetection, and be a unique way to assess medical treatment of heartfailure.

In addition to listening to heart sounds, stethoscopes are commonly usedto listen to lung sounds. High frequency wheezing sounds from the lungcan typically be heard with a stethoscope in patients with asthma as therespiratory airway constricts. By using the current disclosure toamplify the wheezing sounds and assessing a broader frequency range,both below and above the human hearing thresholds, will allow forearlier and more accurate diagnosis of asthma and other obstructiveairway diseases like emphysema. This data can be combined with pulmonaryfunction testing which can assess pulmonary obstruction as in asthma fora more accurate diagnosis and improve medical management of the patient.When the stethoscope is used to listen to the lungs it can with AI mapout the location of the lung sounds in the respiratory cycle. This willresult in a more accurate interpretation of the sounds. For example,wheezing at the end of forced expiration can be an early indicator ofdeveloping lung disease and wheezing throughout inspiration andexpiration would indicate more severe airway disease. This additionalinformation alone or in combination with other clinical data can resultin a more accurate diagnosis and patient management. Thus, in oneaspect, the current disclosure provides for recording the lung soundlocations in the respiratory cycle and analyzing these with artificialintelligence and combining this with other clinical data for a morerobust prognosis and evaluation of a patient.

It is not uncommon for a patient to have both heart and lung disease, sobeing able to assess both heart and lung sounds and analyzing thosesounds with artificial intelligence and deep learning couldsignificantly enhance the diagnosis by determining if a current symptomlike shortness of breath is due to the heart disease or the lung diseaseor a combination of the two.

Recording heart and lung patterns while a patient is symptom free couldalso allow establishment of a personalized patient profile against whichadditional testing could be performed when the patient becomessymptomatic resulting in precise medical treatment (a precision medicinemodel).

Remote/Tele-Health Applications

With the ability to transmit the sounds and graphic display and analysisof these body sounds, remote medical consultation (tele-health) would begreatly enhanced. This would create the opportunity to providestate-of-the-art consultation and healthcare in virtually any remotearea of the world using this device and/or its accompanyingcharacteristics of artificial intelligence analysis of multiple datapoints (ultrasound, pulmonary function test data, etc) and the design ofa fixed sound receptor disk with offset margins and double-sidedadhesion tape and external noise barrier.

All sound data with respect to the intensity of the sound, thefrequency, the wave form, and its location in the cardiac cycle for thisparticular patient could be used as an indication of progression orregression of disease and provide a more precise approach to managingthe patient's health (an example of precision medicine).

In a further embodiment, an array of detectors may be employed. In thisembodiment, one collects sound signals simultaneously from disparatebody locations to form a “sound image” of the area. This is a primaryidea as visualization will likely help diagnostics. Thus, in oneembodiment, multiple detectors may be placed on a body in variouslocations to collect sound from a patient's heart, stomach, joints(arms, knees, etc.) during exercise or other activity. This would helparrive at a diagnostic decision based on a combination of data fromvarious locations. Further, as is a difference between low frequencysound propagation humans can hear and higher frequency vibrations ofbody elements (e.g. ribs with guide vibration propagation), which ahuman listener may not detect, both may be used for diagnostics.

In a further embodiment, a device and method to detect a broader rangeof body sounds than those capable of being detected via human hearingcan be used alone or combined with other real-time or recorded clinicaland analyzed with artificial intelligence to improve diagnostic accuracyand create learning opportunities for instructor directed andself-directed learning. The learner can interpret the data without theassistance of artificial intelligent then activate the artificialintelligence for comparison. Analysis of the differences can be providedto the learner as well as instructive feedback. The broader range ofbody sounds may be studied in combination with body sounds such as heartand lung with pulmonary function data and other clinical data for a moreaccurate diagnosis both within the normal range of hearing and outsidethe normal range of hearing.

FIG. 4 shows a method 400 of one embodiment of the current disclosure.At step 402, at least one detection device is place in contact with abody being monitored. At step 404, body sounds within, above, and belowthe human range of hearing are detected. At step 406, the volume of thebody sounds is amplified by the detection device. At step 408, the bodysounds originating from the body location are recorded. At step 410, thebody sounds are received and processed to determine a state of healthfor the body.

While the present subject matter has been described in detail withrespect to specific exemplary embodiments and methods thereof, it willbe appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining anunderstanding of the foregoing may readily produce alterations to,variations of, and equivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, thescope of the present disclosure is by way of example rather than by wayof limitation, and the subject disclosure does not preclude inclusion ofsuch modifications, variations and/or additions to the present subjectmatter as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the artusing the teachings disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for monitoring and analyzing bodysounds, the method comprising: placing at least one detection device incontact with a body to be monitored; detecting body sounds within, aboveand below a frequency range of human hearing; assessing spatialdistribution of sounds using an array of sensors in the at least onedetection device; amplifying a volume of body sounds via the at leastone detection device; recording the body sounds originating from atleast one body location; and receiving and processing the body sounds todetermine a state of health of the body.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising forming a baseline sound recording for the body basedon the body sounds recorded;
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising taking additional body sound recordings over time.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising comparing the body soundrecordings taken at different times to the baseline recording todetermine differences in the body sound recordings.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising analyzing at least one aspect of the bodysounds including frequency, intensity, wave form, nonlinearity ofwaveform, or location of sound detected in a physiological cycle.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, further comprising combining results from theanalysis with other health data points of the body being monitored. 7.The method of claim 6, further comprising analyzing the combined resultsby deep learning and artificial intelligence to provide earlier and moreaccurate diagnoses.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a second detectiondevice is placed on the body being monitored at a location separate fromthe at least one detection device.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising analyzing nonlinearity of the body sounds and associatingsame with a health status of the body.
 10. A system for analyzing soundsgenerated by an animal's body, comprising: at least one detection devicefor auscultation of internal sounds from the animal's body wherein theauscultated sounds are within, above and below human hearing range,wherein the detection device is in wireless communication with areceiver; wherein the receiver receives the auscultated internal soundsfrom the detection device; a processor, in communication with thereceiver, for generating audio and video output formed from the internalsounds auscultated by the detection device; and a monitor for displayingthe audio and video output from the processor.
 11. The system of claim10, wherein the processor communicates with at least one communicationsystem other than the monitor.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein thedetection device has an offset peripheral margin.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein an adhesive is placed in the offset peripheral marginto affix the recording disk to the body surface to improve quality ofrecording of the body sounds and decrease external noise.
 14. The systemof claim 10, wherein the system forms a baseline sound recording for abody based on the body sounds recorded.
 15. The system of claim 10,wherein the system analyzes at least one aspect of the body sounds suchas frequency, intensity, wave form, nonlinearity of waveform, orlocation of sound detected in a physiological cycle.
 16. The system ofclaim 10, wherein a second detection device is placed on the animal'sbody being monitored at a location separate from the at least onedetection device.
 17. The system of claim 10, further comprisinganalyzing nonlinearity of the body sounds and associating same with ahealth status of the body.
 18. A device for monitoring and analyzingbody sounds comprising: a sound detection apparatus for detecting soundswithin, above and below a human range of hearing; an amplifier foramplifying the detected sounds; at least one volume control; atransmitter for transmitting the sounds; a first surface for contactinga body, the first surface defining an offset peripheral margin; a recordbutton to initiate or cease recording of the body sounds; and a powerindicator.